Angola in the Comics #11: Thrilling Comics #1

Here's a treat - I get to combine two of my favourite things: the nation of Angola and the super hero team the Justice Society of America! I've blogged about the Justice Society of America (JSA) a few times in the past, but very briefly, they were DC Comics' premiere super hero team in the 1940s, the precursors to the Justice League of America.

In 1999, DC ran a mini-event called "The Justice Society Returns!" which ran through a series of interconnected one-shots. After this event, the new ongoing series JSA began. You might assume these two publishing events are connected, but you'd be wrong; "The Justice Society Returns!" stories were set during the team's 1940s continuity and penned by a series of writers & artists other than those responsible for JSA; JSA was set in contemporary continuity with a new Justice Society team comprised of various surviving heroes of the 40s joined by successors to various dead or retired members.

What concerns us is the comic book Thrilling Comics #1 by writer Chuck Dixon and the amazing artist Russ Heath (who passed away last year). Each of these one-shots teamed up two different Justice Society members, in this instance Hawkman and Wildcat. The one-shots were named in honour of 1940s comic book series, although the 1940s Thrilling Comics were not published by DC Comics.

Anyway, the story--"No More Tomorrows"--is set entirely in Angola and opens in the year 1945 as a Nazi patrol out in the bush are attacked by Hawkman and Wildcat. And of course, if you know anything about which African countries participated in World War II you'd be wondering why there are Nazis in Angola, considering it was pretty far from German control and that Portugal remained neutral throughout World War II. Patience, we'll get there.

Hawkman and Wildcat easily beat the Nazis, interrogate them about their leader, then move on, unaware two other figures are trailing them (we'll later learn who they are and can only wonder why they didn't reveal their presence to their fellow heroes immediately). Flying over herds of elephants and antelope, Hawkman finds an immense crater with a transmitter tower built in its center. Hawkman is shot at by a German plane and falls to the earth.

Back with the captured Nazis, night has fallen but Wildcat remains where he is, waiting for Hawkman to return. He is, after all, just a decent prizefighter who wears tights. All of a sudden Tigress leaps out of the tall grass and threatens him, but Manhunter appears and makes Tigress back off, explaining Wildcat is on their side. No idea why they waited until nightfall to have this conversation, but these are the rules of drama. Both Tigress and Manhunter are rather complicated characters and neither are members of the Justice Society; Tigress actually debuted post-war as a Wildcat villain, but was later retconned to have been a heroine during the war, and likewise made an ally of Manhunter. As to Manhunter, DC has published so, so, many versions of the character - this one is Paul Kirk, an authentic 1940s DC super hero. There wasn't much to him back in the 40s - he was simply a former big game hunter who fought crime. Considering his background, Angola isn't such an unusual place for him to turn up at.

Wildcat brings Tigress & Manhunter up to speed on the overarching plot: there's a godlike villain called Stalker who fought the Justice Society and empowered seven of his agents, whom he dispatched around the world. Justice Society comics of the 1940s would usually feature the team splitting up into solo adventures to stop the henchman of their adversary, then meet up together at the finale to face the main villain - which is actually what's happening in this mini-event. Anyway, Wildcat & Hawkman are in Angola to find one of Stalker's men.

Meanwhile, Stalker's lackey has captured Hawkman and explains why they're in Angola: "The 'neutral' government here was kind enough to allow myself and my 'security' force to build this installation." Okay, that explains the 'why'. The lackey shows Hawkman a massive drilling machine he designed to bore deep into the earth "to the rich oil pool lying miles beneath the continent. A deposit equal to all the world's known reserves." Which, sure enough, post-war Angola did discover they had a massive amount of oil & gas (although mostly in Cabinda). Hawkman notes this oil supply would be pretty valuable to the Nazis, but that's not why they're drilling: the lackey intends to ignite the oil field and "erase Africa from the map." Which, once you say it aloud, sure sounds stupid. No matter how much oil & gas is down there, I can't imagine the explosion would wipe even Angola off the map, much less the entire continent! It's a pity this is the villain's big plan, 'cause it's dumb comic book science - but maybe it was intentionally dumb in the way so many 1940s comic books were. I mean, who would ever write a story about a super-villain trying to destroy the North American continent by lighting a match underneath Texas?

Hawkman wonders what the lackey's Nazi allies think about this plan. "They think we're prospecting for oil," the lackey (who desperately needs a name) tells Hawkman. This is why his explanation was done in English. Hawkman wonders why he was left alive, to which the lackey answers he needed bait to draw out Hawkman's allies. On cue, Wildcat, Tigress and Manhunter burst in, Wildcat and Manhunter both brandishing guns. And Tigress? She's got spunk and very nasty nails; they might even break a person's skin! The lackey is unimpressed; he obtained super powers from Stalker and wanted to test them out on super-powered enemies. The lackey transforms into a giant gooey purple monster. Whereupon, Tigress turns and runs away. Good instincts!

Hawkman orders Wildcat & Manhunter to switch off the drill while he fights the gooey monster, grabbing a rifle to slash at the monster's tentacles with its bayonet, then hurls it into the monster's eye (which is strange, actually - the Comics Code Authority was still around to police this comic in 1999 and they usually censored eye injuries; eye injuries happened a few times in 1940s comics though).

While Wildcat & Manhunter destroy the drill with grenades, Tigress returns to the fight sporting a flamethrower and saves Hawkman by burning up the monster. The drill's destruction causes a big explosion which collapses the tunnels (but doesn't blow up the continent of Africa, in case you were worried). The four heroes escape the destruction and meet up with the mystical hero Doctor Occult (also not a member of the Justice Society) to be transported to the next chapter of the story. But for us, this is where we end.

Thoughts: How do you manage to set a story in Angola (or anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa) and not depict a single black person?

It's interesting to see Angola as the scene of the story and that Dixon had enough on the ball to know the country was neutral during the conflict. It seems as though the nation was chosen because of the oil & gas supply. Angola is seldom depicted in North American comic books, much less as the setting of a historical story.

Dixon succeeded at the extremely challenging task of writing Wildcat in a way which didn't bring out my snark; however, the real props belong to Russ Heath, who turned in the sort of lush art he was renowned for.

• +1 estrelas for correct use of an Angolan natural resource (oil)
• +1 estrelas for correct use of Angolan wildlife (elephants, antelope, lions)
• +1 estrelas for correct historical information about Angola's neutrality during World War II

TOTAL SCORE: TRÊS ESTRELAS!

Unearthed: All-Star Comics#63

Three years ago I initiated the "Unearthed" feature on this blog with a look back at All-Star Comics#62, a comic from my childhood. I noted then that I had never read the subsequent issues to find out how the story ended; happily, in the intervening years I've obtained a copy of All-Star Comics#63 and it pleases me now to crack it open.

The story left off last issue with Superman & Supergirl encased in lava by the creature Zanadu, who had kidnapped Hawkgirl. Meanwhile, someone had brainwashed Wildcat to attack Hawkman. The other members of the Justice Society were likewise engaged in subplots, centered around Doctor Fate's recent near-death.

The cover (by Rich Buckler & Wally Wood) feels a little off with its ridiculously immense Solomon Grundy; at least the presence of the Fiddler here lets us know he was the one playing the music which brainwashed Wildcat.

The story is titled "The Death of Doctor Fate" and the creators are Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen & Wally Wood. Notably, this confirms that series author Gerry Conway was indeed on his way out in the previous issue. Therefore, this issue ought to be fashioning something a little more stable, direction-wise.

Under the Fiddler's instructions, Wildcat easily beats Hawkman unconscious; Solomon Grundy simply stands and watches. They helpfully note they're representing the Injustice Society, the JSA's foes, but why are they attacking now? They have nothing to do with the Zanadu threat. That said, heck, it makes a lot of sense - why should villains respect the queue? If someone ever told Doctor Doom to attack the Fantastic Four while they battling Galactus we'd probably see no more Fantastic Four stories.

Of course, the Fiddler ain't exactly Doctor Doom; he stops playing his fiddle which releases Wildcat from his control, giving Wildcat an opportunity to beat him up. Let's face it, Wildcat may be little more than a cranky old boxing freak, but without his instrument the Fiddler's just an old freak. Grundy steps in at this point and Wildcat has no hope of beating him, but Power Girl & Superman arrive to save him. This moment feels like quite a misfire - the threat of Zanadu has (somehow) been pushed to the rear for the fight with Grundy & the Fiddler. Although Superman describes how they escaped the trap, it isn't depicted. The duo quickly finish the fight with Grundy by throwing him into a volcano (overkill much?).

Although Power Girl & Superman escaped their own prisons off-panel, they explain they didn't do the same for Hawkgirl - thus, truly nothing has changed since last issue; the (unclear) menace of Zanadu was simply deferred. We do, however, get a simply terrific close-up of Superman's face - very Woody, a rendition quite evocative of Joe Shuster. The likeness is a visual reminder that the Superman appearing in this comic is supposed to be the Golden Age Superman; that term really had some play in the early 70s nostalgia craze - the Golden Age of Film, the Golden Age of Radio, the Golden Age of Comic Strips and the Golden Age of Comic Books all experienced a boost in reputation. This image is so good, even Wildcat's presence doesn't ruin the panel.

The scene shifts to Egypt as the Flash & Green Lantern are searching for some means to help save Doctor Fate's life on the flimsy reasoning that because Fate's origin happened there, there must be a cure. Egypt seems a little too big for them to stumble across a cure, but they do stumble across a man upon a winged horse, thus furthering the man and his unusual horse from the previous issue. However, that's as far as this subplot moves for now. The man on horseback remains unidentified (yet obviously the Shining Knight to those with long memories).

Returning to the Justice Society of America's headquarters, Doctor Fate is still hooked up to a machine which the Star Spangled Kid is using to channel cosmic energy to save his life (for some reason they put Fate back into his costume between issues). Doctor Mid-Nite (also back in his costume) and Hourman both watch helplessly and, man, Wood makes these two look great! Their darker colours really seem to suit Wood's lines. As they're my two favourite JSAers, I couldn't be more pleased. However, the heroes themselves have little to be happy with - Fate's brain activity ceases and the machines are shut off. Doctor Mid-Nite is so distraught by Fate's death that he rips off his mask and decides to give up being a hero, even as Hourman and the Star Spangled Kid are heading out to face Zanadu, who has mysteriously reappeared in New York.

At this point, Zanadu is pretty much a lost cause so far as a villain goes; he's been kept off-panel for most of the story while both his power level and goals are unclear. In this fight, Hourman gets to fly and shoot energy blasts thanks to the Star Spangled Kid, who surrounds him with an energy field to do so (but why? why not simply attack Zanadu himself?). The fight leads them back inside the JSA's base and Zanadu's presence causes Dr. Fate to wake up, as Zanadu is an agent of chaos while Fate represents order. Fate strikes Zanadu down while Hawkman saves Hawkgirl (off-panel). This causes Zanadu to lose focus on his power, having needed Hawkgirl to channel his energies to conquer the world. Fate then encases Zanadu within a block of amber, leaving him precisely where he had been at the start of the previous issue. Frankly, the best part of this fight is how Kirby-esque it becomes at times, likely because of Giffen's presence on pencils. Not only does his Zanadu look like a Fourth World character, but he gives Fate some impressive "Kirby crackle."

With the crisis past, we move into a one-page epilogue, wherein Superman announces his retirement from the Justice Society (a group he barely ever interacted with anyway) and insists his cousin Power Girl be promoted in his stead; Wildcat thinks this is an upset, but it settles the friction which Superman & Power Girl dealt with in the previous issue. The scene shifts again to the Injustice Society as the Icicle informs his (unseen) teammates they'll strike at the Justice Society through their weak link: Hourman! Wait, Hourman? The fellow who only rejoined the team last issue? Ah, whatever.

Thoughts: Considering that in the previous issue Conway was on his way out and Levitz in, it held together much better than this issue. This is a decent but unremarkable super hero story redeemed mainly by the artwork. The problems of the previous issue are dealt with too easily; how will Wildcat escape the Fiddler's control. Uh, the Fiddler stupidly lets him go. How will they save Dr. Fate's life? Zanadu steps near him and he instantly gets better. What about the Flash & Green Lantern's quest? Nothing to do with Fate's revival, as it turns out. And what of Power Girl & Superman being imprisoned by Zanadu? They get out of it off-panel. And what of Zanadu himself? He can't hold his own against the Star Spangled Kid, much less Dr. Fate. Fights are treated as curbstomps (Wildcat vs. Fiddler, Superman/Power Girl vs. Solomon Grundy, Dr. Fate vs. Zanadu), rather than aiming for high tension or serious peril for the heroes.

Perhaps Levitz was still clearing the deck of Conway's plots so he could get his own started, in which case the series might improve in the following issue. Even then, there's not much of a hook; more of the Injustice Society, when one of their most powerful members couldn't give the Society a decent fight? The very idea of Hourman as the weak link doesn't hold water; surely the Wildcat, the team's resident sourpuss and irritant is the weak link; heck, you could argue Power Girl is a weak link because of her short temper; Hourman's demonstrated nothing since his return except for a general sense of competance which only Hawkman & Superman have matched.

Still, man... that Giffen/Wood art... beautiful! Also, Wildcat was tolerable, which I consider a minor victory.

Unearthed: All-Star Comics#62

What makes a comic book stand out in your memory? If you, like me, read hundreds (or thousands) of comics books each year, how can any particular single issue make its mark? I recently posted about the titles I'm currently reading and hinted at how difficult it is to remain a fan when I'm taking in so much content that I've begun to detect repetition from one comic to another and nothing will kill your love for the comics medium faster than perceiving most of what you consume as dross.

It's in that spirit that I'm looking back on one of the first comic books I ever read (it ranks somewhere within my first 100 reads) to remind myself where my love of the medium came from. Recently, I've really taken to the blogging styles of Colin Smith and his blog Too Busy Thinking About Comics; I appreciate how carefully Colin considers comic books of the past and present, so I'm going to make a similar attempt at pondering All-Star Comics#62.

I don't know how All-Star Comics#62 (published 1976) found its way into my family's house; it seemed to simply appear one day in the family room. None of my siblings ever took it away to their room (as we normally kept our own comics separated), so we evidently believed it was "family" property. I believe it first appeared in the house the same weekend we had held a rummage sale at the church and it's my belief that my father bought it as a present and I missed the announcement. The comic was about 10 years old when it appeared in our house and it was missing its front cover; I don't know what ultimately became of it, but I'm composing this post using a copy I bought from Mile High Comics (it didn't cost me much, but I would've actually sprung for a coverless copy if Mile High had one to offer).

So while I didn't have the cover originally, I do want to consider it ever-so-briefly. It's very busy, isn't it? "The Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics With the Super Squad!" The amount of copy on this cover tells you this was published in a post-Stan Lee world. The cover also gives away this issue's special guest star and the last page's surprise reveal (so I'm glad I didn't have the cover growing up; let's have a few surprises, yes?).

The issue is credited to writers Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz (Conway was apparently on his way out) and artists Keith Giffen & Wally Wood. This is well before Giffen developed his signature style; it's not even Giffen in faux-Kirby as in his 70s Defenders work; I see a lot of Wood in these pages, but little of Giffen. Not that creator names meant anything to me growing up; I knew the name Stan Lee because it appeared as a stylized signature with the word "presents" at the top of each Marvel Comics title page (also, he narrated Spider-Man & Hulk's Saturday morning cartoons). Outside of Stan Lee, I couldn't have told you the names of any comic book creators (not until John Byrne began drawing Superman).

I don't think Crisis on Infinite Earths had transpired when I read this book. That series was predicated on the notion that multiple Earths were too confusing to new readers (or possibly that multiple Earths were much too non-Marvel in concept, why not be more like Marvel?), but I don't recall ever being confused by it; I had already met the Justice Society of America in an issue of Justice League of America (#219), but I recall that story kept away from the idea of alternate Earth counterparts - like, I grokked that there were two Earths, each with a Flash, but the two Flashes were distinctly different characters. But now I risk getting ahead of myself...

Let's start with the splash page; since the aforementioned family copy was coverless, this page really stands out in my memory. Here, we're introduced to seven super heroes; only three are going to stick through the issue. At the far left, Dr. Mid-Nite can be seen in his civilian guise; I had no clue he was supposed to be a super hero. Next to him is Wildcat, about whom... more in a moment. The Star-Spangled Kid is hooked up to some contraption and is thus indisposed for the rest of the issue. Hawkman, Green Lantern & Power Girl complete the circle around the apparatus which contains Dr. Fate. Green Lantern is helpfully carrying Fate's helmet, enabling me to recognize Fate as a child (I knew of Fate & Hawkman thanks to the Super Powers action figures). Green Lantern is upset because someone called Vulcan nearly killed Fate and Lantern blames himself because there's no angst like super hero angst.

Wildcat responds to his friend's agitated state with "Aw, shuddup, Greenie...Mid-Nite's got work ta do!" A gentleman, this one. Technobabble ensues as Mid-Nite & the Star-Spangled Kid explain how they're trying to keep Fate alive and Power Girl wonders why an ankh appears on a computer monitor. This gets them talking about how Fate originated in Egypt and Lantern decides to visit Egypt in the slim hope of somehow finding something to save Fate's life. Hawkman, the team leader, agrees to this and mentions he has something else to handle. To which Wildcat moans, "Oh, man, Doc -- listen to that! Hawky's gotta go home and feed his widdle parakeet! It might starve without him...and wouldn't that be a cryin' shame!" So, thus far Wildcat has established himself as the team's resident sarcastic whiner. Keep it up Wildcat, you need something to compensate for being more useless to the team than the blind man (Mid-Nite), don't you? Although I came to love the Justice Society over the years, I've never liked Wildcat and now that I've returned to this issue, I can see why; with just two lines of dialogue so far, Wildcat has managed to offer no reassurance, planning or intelligent thought, instead choosing to mock the rest of the team for taking action in the midst of a crisis. Wildcat was an internet troll before there was an internet to troll.

The Flash & Hourman arrive, bringing our super hero count up to nine; however, we won't be seeing Mid-Nite, Fate or the Star-Spangled Kid again, and after a brief catch up, Flash takes off with Lantern to Egypt, so despite the large cast Conway and/or Levitz are doing a fine job of telling a story so clear a child could (and did) follow it. Hawkman nominates Hourman for monitor duty with Power Girl, whom the former hasn't met until now. This prompts Hawkman to note Hourman is "still young enough to appreciate her." I don't know when it was decided Hourman was married and had a grown-up son, but I do know his son debuted just a decade later and was within a few years of Power Girl's age. In retrospect, Hawkman is a bit of a creep for suggesting Hourman might enjoy a cradle-robbing affair. Come to think of it, Hawkman is also supposed to be married with a grown-up son by this time...I'm over-thinking this.

Hawkman decides to check in on said wife, Shiera. She's better known as Hawkgirl in the comics, but doesn't appear in costume for this story, which again keeps the amount of costumes on display under control. I have to say, I do appreciate this - Mid-Nite is here to be a doctor, not a super hero, so he's out of costume; Fate is a patient, not a super hero, no costume; Hawkgirl is a damsel in distress, not a super hero, no costume; all the characters dressed as super heroes are actually going to behave like super heroes (possible exemption for Wildcat). We cut briefly to Wildcat, Hourman & Power Girl on monitor duty as Wildcat utters his third line, this time telling Power Girl she'd "better not hog all the action" the next time they get into a fight (Wildcat is a normal man who dresses like a cat, period; Power Girl has all the powers of Superman; who do you think contributes more to a fight?). Power Girl observes she just saved the city. Hourman, voicing my thoughts, says "isn't it enough that the job got done?" Wildcat: poster boy of the insecure male ego. Meanwhile, I'm starting to figure out why Hourman became one of my favourite heroes...

Someone called Dr. Arthur Kliburn goes poking through some artifacts, only to be killed by a monstrous creation called Xanadu.

Sorry, that's Zanadu.

Shiera shows ups (Kliburn was poking through the Hawk family's artifacts) and Zanadu captures her, teleporting away. Hawkman arrives too late and sends out a distress call to the Justice Society.

Perhaps this is a good moment to bring up Power Girl. Much has been made of the anecdote that Wally Wood - one of the greats at drawing voluptuous female bodies - intentionally expanded Power Girl's chest size for a lark. The problem is, fandom became too conscious of what Wood was doing and it became the number one thing Power Girl was about. Not that "Supergirl on Labour Day" was a brilliant concept on its own, but now that the fans who grew up on these stories are the ones making the decisions in modern DC comics, we've gone from the rather reasonably-proportioned chest Wood drew (above) to catastrophes like this:

But that's what happens when comic book characters are run by the fans - they become parodies of themselves, sketched out by a single defining trait or story and not allowed to deviate from fandom's perception of their character (see also: Hank Pym the wife-beater, Tony Stark the drunk, Hourman the druggie, Arsenal the druggie and Green Arrow the red Commie Pinko Liberal Batman wannabe). Wood's Power Girl may have been subversive for its time, but what does the above image tell you about today's comic book culture? Rhetorical question, don't answer.

Anyway, Hawkman's signal is also received by our very special guest star, whom Wood introduces to the story with genuine class:

Even in these early days of comic book reading, I knew enough to recognize the silhouette. Oh boy, now things were gonna get good!

We cut away to Egypt where a purple robed man tries to barter for a potion, but refuses to trade his horse. Knowing that the Green Lantern & Flash were headed to Egypt (and that Lantern wore a purple cape), I confusedly thought this robed man was Green Lantern (perhaps I thought Flash had become a horse?). In retrospect, this is probably the Shining Knight. Anyway, that's as far as the subplot goes.

So, the Justice Society have gathered to hear their leader complain "what good is a Justice Society if it can't protect its own members?" As usual, Wildcat has a pearl of wisdom to offer, glaring at Power Girl as he notes "how crummy things have gotten since ya let the kids in." Power Girl is sometimes characterized as short-tempered, but I have to say...she clearly has plenty of willpower to keep from swatting Wildcat into the next county.

Anyway, up until now Wildcat has been the least reasonable person in the room. So, time for Power Girl to get torqued off! Superman arrives and by now it had become clear to me that this Superman was older than the one I knew (note the white hair at his temples); this was fine by me, since, like so many kids, I thought of Superman as "Superdad." Power Girl, appropriately, reacts to "Superdad" by behaving like a spoiled teenager, demanding she be given her turn in the spotlight. Superman seems more confused by her than anything, noting he hasn't stopped her from being a super hero up until then (although apparently he didn't want her to join the Justice Society) and he hasn't come to interfere, he simply wants to help in this crisis. Frankly, in a single page Superman shows more support for Power Girl than the entire Justice Society; I guess she's just hyper-sensitive when it comes to family.

Hawkman angrily puts on his best Reed Richards face and reminds everyone that his wife is in mortal danger (Face front true believers! The Merry DC Marching Society wants you!) and they depart to find Hawkgirl, leaving Hourman on monitor duty on the grounds that... well, he's clearly too intelligent and competent for this mission and wouldn't be anywhere near as much a hindrance as the non-powered belly-aching Sourpuss or the squabbling Kryptonian cousins.

So, Zanadu is in Tokyo, talking to Hawkgirl in funny dialogue balloons to remind you that he's a baddie. Superman & Power Girl launch into battle with some more of their patented bickering, so Zanadu defeats them by encasing them within lava.

Hawkman & Wildcat are on the ground, looking at all the people Zanadu has rendered unconscious with his powers. Suddenly, Wildcat hears some music and attacks Hawkman, declaring himself a member of the Injustice Gang!

True confession: in retrospect, Wildcat is probably under the mental control of the Fiddler, a member of the Injustice Gang and likely source of the music Wildcat heard. However, when I read this as a child, not knowing who the Fiddler or Injustice Gang were and having witnessed Wildcat's behaviour across the length and breadth of All-Star Comics#62 I believed he had been evil all along and for some reason the team hadn't realized what his sarcastic put-downs and complaints really meant. Again I wondered why Hourman was left on monitor duty.

I have only one other issue of the 1970s All-Star Comics revival in my collection and it's the last issue, nowhere close to matching up with #62. I still don't know a lot of the details surrounding the attack on Dr. Fate, Zanadu, the Shining Knight or the Injustice Gang plots, but none of that bothered me as a child. I grasped that Zanadu was evil (he murdered a man! and took Hawkman's wife hostage!) and the Justice Society were good. I grasped that Power Girl meant well, but was a little brash. I grasped that this Superman was older than the other versions I had seen, but was essentially the same man. I guess my only misstep was believing Wildcat was the team's traitor. In retrospect, I see that Conway and/or Levitz were trying to write Wildcat as the team's Thing (with Power Girl as the Human Torch), giving him a gutter-level dialect and lots to complain about. The thing is, Wildcat is an old man in a kitty suit, whereas the Thing is the super-strong backbone of the Fantastic Four; the Fantastic Four can't do without the Thing, but one feels the Justice Society would function much more smoothly without the whiny old man who has no powers.

Looking back on this comic book now, what I appreciate the most is the Wally Wood artwork; Superman's silhouetted entrance and other inventive page layouts (like the Zanadu page above) really liven up the story.

I still have a lot of fondness for the Justice Society and their related books; within a year of reading this comic I found my first issue of All-Star Squadron and it did a lot to fuel my growing interest in super heroes and their histories. I was particularly taken with the Justice Society's Green Lantern; there's something about the red, green & purple colour combination that shouldn't work, and yet it does; maybe the blond hair ties it all together. Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite would become fast favourites while Wildcat...well, to me he'll always be Sourpuss.

Wildcat fans... and I assume you must exist, you can't have all died post-1950... you like this character... why?

Comic Books I Have Tried to Read

For most of my years collecting comic books I've been a fan of Marvel Comics. Not only does Marvel account for the majority of my collection, I've been able to justify a few oddball purchases here and there because (I reason) it all gives me a better understanding of Marvel. As a Marvel freelancer, there may yet be a way to justify my owning NFL Superpro, Night Nurse and Druid.

Around 2002 I began to seriously examine comic books outside of Marvel, hoping to broaden my horizons (and palate). While I've developed a lot of new favourite books in the near-decade since then (Usagi Yojimbo, Supernatural Law, Rex Libris), many new books I've tried out never panned out beyond the first issue. These superfluous #1s in my collection are a bit of an embarrassment to me.

Now, often publishers will lower the price of their first issue to draw more readers ($0.25-1.00) and I've bought into this numerous times. As the inexpensive issue #1 has almost never led to becoming a monthly follower, I'm trying to curb such purchases. At any rate, excluding such aforementioned books, here's a sampling of comics whose first issue...was my last issue. I'm not intending to insult any of the proceeding titles, rather I'm delving into my sometimes-flighty reasons for ignoring a comic and (perhaps) illustrating how important it is for a first issue to win over the audience, especially when the audience is new to the characters and their universe. If any of my statements seem ignorant or damning, just imagine the stories I could tell about comics I gave up on while they were still on the rack; further, just imagine how comics like these appear to the novice comic book fan, as opposed to an old die hard like me. As it has been said, every comic book is someone's first...and last.

Human Defense Corps#1 (DC Comics, limited series)

What Is it? Spinning out of a recent line-wide DC crossover (which I hadn't read), the Human Defense Corps were normal foot soldiers being sent up against the many and varied extra-normal threats of the DC Universe.

Why Was It My First Issue? As an old fan of G.I. Joe, I was interested in the concept and eager to see what kind of menaces the Human Defense Corps would have to face.

Why Was It My Last Issue? Unfortunately, the Human Defense Corps' primary antagonists were some sort of mystical characters from the DC Universe and it wasn't really what I was interested in.

Outsiders#1 (DC Comics, ongoing series)

What Is it? Spinning out of a minor crossover (which I hadn't read), the Outsiders were a relaunched team of "proactive" heroes out to get the bad guys. In this issue, Arsenal & Nightwing gather their team.

Why Was It My First Issue? I'd been enjoying writer Judd Winnick's work on Marvel's Exiles and I felt ready to try out a DC Universe super hero team book.

Why Was It My Last Issue? Well, the word "proactive" has never lead to anything worthwhile in the history of fiction (hyperbole?). Given the team's remit some of the members (Jade) didn't seem to belong. I was also really put out by a new character introduced here, Grace, who's shown to be a bouncer at a club frequented by monsters which only prompted me to wonder why, if the Outsiders were out to clean up on crime, they didn't start with Grace's place of business. But I think it was the last page appearance of Gorilla Grodd which convinced me this was just another DC super hero team book.

Wildguard: Casting Call#1 (Image, limited series)

What Is it? With a set-up like a reality TV program, a panel of judges examine dozens of super heroes to see which are worthy to join the Wildguard.

Why Was It My First Issue? The reality TV-like concept caught my notice and I struck by the potential for humour and drama in the concept.

Why Was It My Last Issue? This issue had to juggle introducing dozens of new characters. Todd Nauck was absolutely on his game when it came to designing them, but by the nature of the concept, you couldn't become particularly attached to them. It's still a great concept I'd like to see again.

Villains United#1 (DC Comics, limited series)

What Is it? In preparation for a line-wide crossover (which I didn't read), most of the DC Universe's super-villains have joined forces under the leadership of Lex Luthor and others; however, the members of the Secret Six refuse to join them.

Why Was It My First Issue? The lineup of villains on the cover intrigued me and I was already becoming a fan of writer Gail Simone.

Why Was It My Last Issue? The contents didn't match the cover; when I found out it was actually a Secret Six mini-series I bailed on the project.

Red Menace#1 (DC Comics, limited series)

What Is it? During the McCarthy era "witch hunt," a super hero gives up his secret identity to the government as a show of good faith; it's just the beginning of his problems.

Why Was It My First Issue? I've always been interested in seeing super hero comics tackle McCarthyism, perhaps because in the actual 1950s the super heroes either avoided the issue or played along with the "red menace" rhetoric.

Why Was It My Last Issue? That said, this comic seemed more interested in being a noir drama (perhaps in graphic novel format) rather than being a super hero comic book.

Stormwatch PHD#1 (DC Comics, ongoing series)

What Is it? Set in the Wildstorm Universe, a variety of non-costumed people are recruited to serve in an anti-superhuman crime task force.

Why Was It My First Issue? I had become a great fan of writer Christos N. Gage and had yet to read a Gage comic I didn't like. The concept of non-super heroes combating super crime held some appeal.

Why Was It My Last Issue? This was the first Gage comic I did not like. The series relied on too much prior knowledge of the Wildstorm Universe...which probably has a lot to do with the eventual collapse of Wildstorm. I was completely unprepared for the many references to preexisting characters and past events. I was also put out by the last page, where the team are revealed to have a traitor in their ranks; I wished the series could have at least given me a chance to develop an affinity for the cast before tearing them down. Finally, because this issue was spent introducing the cast one at a time (to give them proper identification to the reader), there was no sense of what the series' actual content would be like.

Justice Society of America#1 (DC Comics, ongoing series)

What Is it? Relaunched after a brief hiatus, this continues the adventures of the DC Universe's first team of super heroes, now mentoring a baker's dozen of proteges.

Why Was It My First Issue? I had followed the predecessor series JSA in the past. I eventually quit reading it, but I felt the new issue #1 was a good chance to see if things had changed.

Why Was It My Last Issue? Nothing had really changed, especially where writer Geoff Johns was concerned. Throughout JSA I had been frustrated by the superficial changes the title was constantly experiencing - new costumes, new codenames, members leaving, members joining, members dying, members resurrecting (kind of a decompressed Axe Cop) - to the point where I found myself wishing the series would just settle down and tell some stories about the Justice Society, rather than the senseless fluctuation of the status quo. In this issue #1, I could see things only growing worse as the already-sprawling cast gained several new members. I decided Johns was more interested in the idea of a Justice Society comic, rather than producing a Justice Society comic.

Lobster Johnson: the Iron Prometheus#1 (Dark Horse, limited series)

What Is it? A 1930s pulp-style hero (set in the same universe as Hellboy) battles occult threats.

Why Was It My First Issue? This is only one of many attempts I've made to become a regular reader of Hellboy; I've been interested in reading Hellboy since I saw the first live action film, yet the comics almost always leave me cold. The attraction here was that I knew Lobster Johnson didn't have much back story already established so I would probably find a fairly approachable story.

Why Was It My Last Issue? Like most Hellboy universe properties, something felt "off" to me. I can't connect to the characters or the world they inhabit, much as I'd like to.

The Next Issue Project#1 (Image, limited series)

What Is it? Creators pay homage to 1940s comics with an issue designed to resemble the hypothetical "next issue" of a long-dead 40s comic book.

Why Was It My First Issue? The concept and larger page size were appealing, as were the names of contributors Bill Sienkiewicz and Jim Rugg.

Why Was It My Last Issue? In retrospect, the presence of Bill Sienkiewicz should have been my first indication of this title's mixed message. Some stories were written and drawn to look like a vintage comic; others were much the same as a 21st century comic, simply employing long-vanished characters; still others broke entirely from the original character concepts to envision them as something else. While I enjoyed a number of the features in this first book, the inconsistent message swayed me into steering clear of the rest.

Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance#1 (DC Comics, limited series)

What Is it? The self-indulgent Super Young Team of Japan are out to make their mark as the DC Universe's greatest heroes...so long as they don't actually have to make an effort.

Why Was It My First Issue? Although I didn't read Final Crisis I had heard of Super Young Team on various blogs while the event was running and they sounded like a clever concept. Creators Joe Casey and Chriscross were a reliable team, to boot.

Why Was It My Last Issue? I was seriously unprepared for this comic. I didn't expect Casey's story to skewer its cast so immediately and constantly. The Super Young Team spend the first issue talking about how they're the greatest super heroes of all time, but do nothing to prove it. Undermining the cast seemed to be the point of the series, but I couldn't deal with such unlikeable characters. I suppose I thought it would be funnier?

Turf#1 (Image, limited series)

What Is it? In 1920s New York, gangsters, vampires and aliens collide.

Why Was It My First Issue? I had enjoyed Jonathan Ross' TV special In Search of Steve Ditko and was interested to see if he could write comic books.

Why Was It My Last Issue? Well, I learned more about Turf from the solicitation text than I did in issue #1, which is seldom a good sign. To my astonishment, Turf takes a ludicrous concept and plays it straight, delving into the internal politics of vampire clans (which are fascinating to all the Masquerade players, I suppose) and gradually building up a conflict between them and the mob. And there might be an alien wandering through two pages. I came for Grand Guignol and found I'd bought Samuel Beckett.

Hawks of Outremer#1 (Boom!, limited series)

What Is it? Adventures of the Crusader hero Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, from the pen of Robert E. Howard.

Why Was It My First Issue? It was a light week for me at the comic shop and I had some money burning a hole in my pocket. The Crusades trappings caught my eye.

Why Was It My Last Issue? It occurred to me that as I prefer to delve into the original source material when it comes to adaptations that I really ought to read the original Hawks of Outremer by Howard for myself.